Like most kids in America, I grew up eating ice cream regularly, especially during the summer months. I can still remember lounging in the pool and waiting for the sound of our neighborhood ice cream truck making its way down the street. My best friend and I would bolt from the pool and make our way to the front yard as soon as we’d hear the music, which now, as an adult, I find extremely annoying ironically.

One thing I learned early on in my childhood was regular ice cream soon bored me. I think there’s a reason they refer to boring things as “vanilla” sometimes. I was not a vanilla ice cream kinda girl, unless it had heaps of caramel on it. I can distinctly remember driving my parents bonkers during multiple pouting fits if we went to our local Foster Freeze and they didn’t have chocolate that day.

As I got older (aka had my own money) I started buying more interesting and unique flavors of ice cream, like ice cream rexburg, — the more stuff mixed in, the better!

And then in 2006, I visited Italy for the first time.

Gelato…The answer to all my frozen dessert dreams.

Sadly, it seemed to be a fleeting affair as I did not indulge in too much gelato since that trip. Perhaps, it was discovering Movenpick’s decadent ice cream and various shaved ice desserts the last few years in Asia that distracted me from my true love.

And then, the Blogville project with the Emilia Romagna Tourism Board presented itself, and I suddenly found myself back in Italy three different times for a total of 25 days between May and now. In fact, I just returned from Italy yesterday.

Gelato and I were reunited and it was love at first bite all over again — we picked up right where we left off so long ago.

Wonder what the differences are between gelato and ice cream? Despite many saying that gelato is just Italian ice cream, there are noticeable and important differences that separate gelato from the traditional ice cream many of us grew up with. In fact, you can spot the difference by making ice-cream and gelato yourself.

Gelato has Less Air and Lower Fat

Gelato has much less air than traditional ice cream, which can be as much as 50% air. And for those concerned about the fat content in ice cream, check out gelato! Gelato typically has 4-6% fat whereas ice cream may contain as much as 16% in some cases.

Gelato is Made Daily

Typically, gelato is made on a daily basis in gelaterias in Italy whereas ice cream is often made in large batches incorporating ingredients designed to ensure its lengthy storage in the freezer.

Gelato has a Stronger Flavor

Because of the less incorporated air, lower fat, and higher temperature, you have probably noticed you get a more pronounced flavor profile versus eating ice cream of same flavor. According to the Carpigiani Gelato University in Bologna, this is because the higher fat content in ice cream coats the tongue, the less air in gelato provides more flavor in each spoonful, and your taste buds are not dulled from the frozen temperature of ice cream.

The stronger flavor profile, the softer and more smooth texture, and the lower fat content are just a few of the reasons I prefer authentic gelato over ice cream. I could not, and would not, eat ice cream every day, but I could, and did in a few instances, eat gelato every day in Italy. Blog posts of all the amazing gelato I consumed in Emilia Romagna still to come!

I think it’s safe to say after Blogville, my love affair with gelato is likely to transition into a more long-term romance. Fortunately, there is a pretty decent gelato place next to the new apartment in the Netherlands, and I am thinking of taking my love of gelato to a new level — perhaps taking a class and learning how to make it myself!

While my stay(s) in Emilia Romagna were hosted by the tourism board, all views and opinions are my own.

It turns out, the news isn’t quite as bad as it appeared!

While heading out to On Tap for some fish and chips the other night with some coworkers, I was surprised to see a huge line of people waiting for something on Section 4, Zhongxiao East Road, just before the intersection with Yanji Street.  This was still a few blocks ahead of the dance clubs on Zhongxiao, and the crowd was a much more diverse mix than you’d expect for a club, so I knew it couldn’t be for that.  But what was it?

I apologize in advance for some of the photos – I was not expecting this find and only had my phone with me!

As the taxi drew closer, I saw the sign that made my day…Ice Monster is Back!

Only open again since May 29, we decided to brave the line to try out the new Ice Monster after our dinner.  What better dessert could you imagine than some iconic Bao Bing and Xue Hua Bing?

The line went pretty quick, we were around 30 people back and our wait was only around 20 minutes.  There were staff at the front of the line handing out the menu and taking orders in advance of your entering the shop, so that helps the line run smoother.  They also don’t let people into the shop when there are no seats available, unless you tell them you just want to order for take away, then they may let you cut into the shop while those wishing to dine in wait longer in the line.  There are around 50 total seats in the shop, so turnover is fairly quick, and being indoors, it’s much more comfortable than the old exterior seating of 15 Yongkang Street.

The Ice Monster menu has four main sections; Avalanche for the Bao Bing shaved ice, Sensation for the Xue Hua Bing snow ice, Mocktail for mixed juice drinks, and Freeze for the frozen drinks.  Many of the menu items seem to be more similar to those that were on offer at Yongkang 15, not quite back to the offerings of the original Ice Monster.

We ordered two Mango Avalanches for the three of us, we actually wanted one to be a Fresh Mango Sensation, but I misordered! The avalanche was a delicious mix of shaved ice with sweet condensed milk and brown sugar syrup, a mango jelly and a scoop of mango ice cream, with a heaping serving of fresh mango mixed in for good measure.

I do not know why, but the staff could apparently see our enjoyment of the avalanche, and perhaps thinking this was our first / only time stopping in, they decided to sample out some other wares on us!  We were each also given a scoop of their lemon ice, a scoop of melon sorbet to share, and they even gave us a small Fresh Mango Sensation to share as well!

The Mango Avalanche and Mango Sensation were both outstanding, but I have to say, I think the lemon ice was one of the best I’ve ever had!  This tasted exactly like the Italian ice I used to get as a kid, and I thought the only thing that could have possibly made this one any better would have been the little white paper squeeze cup I remember from my youth.  I’ll definitely order one of the lemon based items on my next visit to Ice Monster, most likely the Lemon Jasmine Tea Sensation which caught my eye.

Ice Monster
1F., No. 297, Sec. 4, Zhongxiao East Road, Da’an District
+886 2 8771 3263
http://www.ice-monster.com
Hours: Monday – Sunday / 10:30 – 23:30

In the continuing quest to eat every macaron known to man, I am easily swayed when passing a patisserie with these delightful treats. I had not been to this particular one in Taipei yet, however, our friend Janice, e*ting, from Hong Kong has raved about these on several occasions. Patisserie Sadaharu AOKI is not surprisingly from Paris, but as you might gather from the name “Sadaharu Aoki“, he is originally from Japan.

During an afternoon lunch at BellaVita with several other foodie friends, I ended up bringing home an entire assortment — one of each flavor….about $50 US in Macarons. Doh! Worth every Taiwan Dollar.

Anyone who knows me well knows that aside from food, wine, and travel, my biggest passion in life is Disney! I grew up near Disneyland, have maintained an annual pass for years and my dream was eventually to visit all the Disney Parks in the world. Little did I know back then I would wind up living in Asia and visiting both Tokyo and Hong Kong multiple times a year. We just got back from a week in Japan for Brett’s birthday and I had to slip in a day at Disney too! This photo is one of the seasonal treats and souvenir plates offered at Tokyo Disneyland during the Christmas Fantasy celebration. Unlike most theme park food, Tokyo Disney has good offerings at reasonable prices (especially considering it’s Japan!) This is a strawberry cream puff with a chocolate reindeer on top that comes with the adorable (dated) souvenir plate for 600 yen.

To see all the seasonal treats offered at both Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySEA, I have two posts on my Disney travel blog with lots of photos. Enjoy and Happy Holidays!

2010 Christmas Treats at Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySEA

Duffy the Disney Bear and Shellie May Christmas Treats at Tokyo DisneySEA

I did as much prep work as I could early in the day (sauces, chopping, etc.), but somehow the day just flew and guess what?  We were still eating well after 1am.  As usual, the best laid plans gone awry! Overall, it was a success – apart from a few cooking snafus and wrangling with the world’s most difficult dessert in my opinion.  I must point out how well-adjusted I have become to our small kitchen here in Taipei after coming from huge Western style kitchens, which you can get more info about them here, with easily sourced ingredients.  It has taken time to get used to cooking with only two burners, a small and quite temperamental oven, and having to run to five different types of grocery stores to get supplies, so I am rather impressed I managed to pull off a dinner this grand.

Here is a look at the courses and links to recipes where applicable.  I planned the entire meal around two special bottles of wine for the evening — 07 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay and our rather expensive 02 Heitz Cellars‘ Martha’s Vineyard legendary Cabernet Sauvignon.

First Course: Bagna Calda

Bagna Calda is one of my all-time favorite dishes from The Stinking Rose Restaurant in California.  Both Brett and I love garlic so I was thrilled to introduce him to a garlic themed restaurant when we first started dating.  Bagna Calda is one of their signature dishes, which is basically a garlic bath.  Cloves of garlic are baked in olive oil, butter, and anchovies.  Once the cloves are soft, you can spread these garlicky delights on bread, crackers, etc.  Since we were doing a big multi-course dinner, I opted to cook just a few cloves for each of us, otherwise I am sure we would’ve filled up on these right away.

I used some of my favorite Northern California Lucero Olive Oils (Basil and also a bit of the Lemon), some anchovy paste, high-end French butter, and baked everything in a small dish for about 35 minutes on 325 degrees F.  They key is to coat the cloves in oil so they stay moist in the oven.

Second Course:  Scallops on Potato Pancakes

This course was inspired by a Food & Wine recipe for Scallops with Potato Pancakes and Caviar Sauce.  Since Brett is Jewish and loves his Hanukkah latkes, this was a perfect opportunity to combine them into his fancy birthday dinner too!

Caviar is not that easy to track down here and for the price of $100 US, I didn’t think it was really worth spending that much for sauce.  I opted to make a vanilla butter sauce instead.  Since I was making only four scallops I just used a portion of a Tahitian vanilla bean we got in French Polynesia.  I made a simple sauce of chopped shallots, white wine, butter, and the vanilla pod scrapings.  The Food & Wine recipe says you can make the latkes ahead of time and keep them at room temperature for two hours, but I recommend making them fresh so they stay extra crisp.

Third Course: Ravioli Filled with Brie, Pumpkin, and Leeks Tossed in a Browned Butter Sauce

This is definitely the course where disaster began to strike.  The pasta dough I intended to use had an awful consistency, so I ended up making dough from scratch!   Unfortunately, our apartment is either overly humid or skin-cracking dry.  Brett had turned on the dehumidifier because of all the cooking I had been doing so the dough ended up cracking and drying out too soon.  I couldn’t get it rolled as thin as I needed so I knew my ravioli skins were going to be more dense than normal ones.

Although the ravioli were quite thick, at least the filling came out great.  I heated fresh pumpkin puree I had already made with some Brie and a small handful of finely chopped leeks.  I made a simple browned butter sauce and topped with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Fourth Course:  Leek and Red Wine Soup

This course was inspired by Food & Wine’s recipe for Silky Leek and Red Wine Soup.  The soup has a nice blend of leeks, a pinch of saffron, red wine, and of course heavy cream.  This is a great recipe, but for the dinner I varied it slightly to be less creamy and more of a true red wine soup.  When I was working on this dish, Brett’s face was priceless…I opened the saffron and I think he saw dollar signs floating above.  We can only get one kind of saffron here and it’s over $30 US for 1 gram or 0.03 ounces.  I only used a pinch I swear!

Fifth Course:  Mini Baked Mac and Cheese

These are fun and really simple to make.  Take cooked elbow macaroni and mix with your favorite blend of cheeses and drop into buttered muffin cups.  You can make them ahead of time and keep in the fridge until you are ready to bake.  I used a blend of Padano, Parmesan, Mozzarella, and Cheddar.  Top them with additional grated Parmesan and bake until they are golden brown on the top.

Sixth Course: Caesar Salad

To counter the two heavy pasta courses, I did a light salad with a traditional Caesar dressing (just used very little egg yolk).  Instead of shaved or grated Parmesan cheese, I used Parmesan crisps I had baked earlier in the day.  These provide a nice crispy texture in a salad (especially if you do not use croutons).

Seventh Course: Herb Crusted Lamb Chops with Caramelized Broccoli

Brett loves his lamb chops so I couldn’t imagine a big dinner without them, not to mention they pair perfectly with our beloved Martha’s Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon.  I marinated the lamb in red wine and herbs for most of the day and then crusted them with a mix of additional herbs.  About five minutes on the grill and they were perfect.  For a side dish, I prepared a little caramelized broccoli with sliced garlic.

Eighth Course: Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Soufflé with Vanilla Rum Caramel Sauce

This was a course of concern for me.  I had not made a true chocolate soufflé before, so probably not the best time to try one now!  I had really wanted to use Valrhona chocolate, but we could not find it at the store this time, so I opted to use an interesting Lindt Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt.  I also added 1/4 of the Tahitian vanilla pod to the chocolate mixture.  I used a recipe from Food Network for the soufflé itself.  I had a rough time getting my egg whites to stiffen and I think I must have had a tiny bit of egg yolk on the beaters.  As I continued to mix for what seemed like 30 minutes, Brett found a tip online that said to use cream of tartar.  It did work — the egg whites began to form peaks shortly thereafter!

Earlier in the day, I made a Tahitian vanilla bean and Cuban rum caramel sauce.  It was quite thick, super sweet, but oh so delicious!  Looking forward to finishing the leftover sauce with some vanilla bean ice cream!

Ninth Course: Passion Fruit Macarons with Dark Chocolate Passion Fruit Ganache

I’ve read numerous recipes and blogs about how difficult these are to make, but I wasn’t dissuaded.  I can see why you need to make them over and over again to get them right.  I could not find food coloring anywhere here in Taipei (go figure), but we did find food flavoring drops that had some color.  I bought the passion fruit and coffee flavors in hopes I could use one of these two.  Combing the fruit stand, I found fresh passion fruit and decided to try a passion fruit macaron with a passion fruit chocolate ganache.

While I aspire to make macarons as good as Pierre Herme, I figured it was a bit ambitious to start off trying that complex of a recipe.  Instead, I went with the queen of simple and straight forward – Martha Stewart! It appears she can really do anything.  Her basic macaron recipe was quite simple and easy to follow.

I started the macarons in the morning and the first few ended up sticking together (when they say leave at least 2 inches in between…they really mean it!)  Trying to get the almond mixture in the pastry bag was a challenge in itself.  If you have wedding rings on and happen to be a lefty like me, take them off!  That almond mixture is a $&@*@( to clean off rings, especially if you have any pave set diamonds!

Out of 20 something macaron halves, I did manage to get at least 6 sets that were reasonably the same size and shape.  A tip: let them cool completely otherwise they are very easy to break.  Set them aside and do something else for an hour or so — if you live in a humid climate like we do, it may take even longer for them to completely set.

For the ganache, I actually used a Pierre Herme recipe with fresh passion fruit puree.  Making your own passion fruit puree is not hard if you basically put the “guts” in a food processor and then strain.  Some people use sugar as well but since it was going into a ganache, I did not add any extra sugar.  And now we have extra puree for passion fruit margaritas!

One recommendation on piping the ganache — let it harden completely.  I put it in the fridge for nearly an hour; however, it started softening quickly due to the humidity and the heat of my hands on the pastry bag and began to spit.  It probably would’ve been easier had I let it set up longer.

Overall, the macarons came out better than I expected for my first time and they were delicious, so that is what’s important!  Next time I can work on the aesthetics.

Tenth Course: Aged Cheeses and Gourmet Honey

We love pairing gourmet cheeses with wine and have been known to make a meal out of meats and cheeses before.  Our favorite chef here in town often treats us to special aged cheeses, gourmet honey, and homemade raisins after one of his big degustation menus.  Finding certain gourmet cheeses here can be hit or miss sometimes — one thing I definitely miss from the States!  In the end, I served the aged Parmesan and Padano since we still had a little Cabernet Sauvignon left.  Not terribly exciting, but a clean way to finish off after those two rich desserts.

By the time we finished this course, I was exhausted.  When I woke up Saturday morning, I was actually sore!  Standing hunched over a counter on hard tile floors for 12+ hours made for a long day, but Brett was worth it…sore muscles and all!

I had never been exposed to these French masterpieces until my trips to Belgium and France where nearly every other window we passed was a bakery who specialized in these addicting treats.  We’ve tried a few in other places around the world, but the Pierre Herme ones are the best I have ever tried.  Other have been chalky tasting and the fillings have been lacking.  Looking forward to getting more of these in just a few days!

Have you tried macarons?  If so, any recommendations we should try?  Your favorite flavors?  If you have tried making them at home and have a favorite recipe you can share, please let us know!